LETTERPRESS TRADE SCHOOL

~Specimens~

ABOUT THE PRINTING SHOP

We’ve been cranking away
for a long time…

Cranky Pressman is an online letterpress service run by The Graphic Touch Letterpress Company, a commercial printer based in Salem, Ohio. Keith Berger has owned and run the business since 1984. The shop was founded by its original owners in 1934. Much of the equipment that was there when Keith took over the operation is still in use today.

The expression ‘They don’t make them like they used to’ isn’t quite strong enough when talking about letterpress equipment. The stuff is literally built to last centuries. Along with the original presses the shop has also added several more letterpresses to its floor in recent years. Unlike some of the antiques we have around the place, which are beautiful machines but not really built for speed, our more recent additions are better suited for larger production runs. They give us the same great letterpress impression quality (if not better) but at a pace that is, shall we say less turn of the century.

Besides our dinosaur collection we also have extensive binding capabilities and everything needed to serve our regular commercial clientele of ad agencies, design firms and independent creatives all over the country. The shop does not offer design service and prefers to focus on delivering the best letterpress production services for our customers who are much better designers than we could ever be. Sticking to what we know best as well as being stuck here in the heart of Ohio’s rustbelt helps keep our prices quite reasonable.